Due to insane amounts of feedback, here's part two.

--

Xander groaned as he banged his head on the table before looking back up at the source of his pain.

"Once again, the armored vigilante now being dubbed 'Gear' seems intent on protecting the small town of Sunnydale, California. Little is known of this new guy on the scene, but he is already gathering quite a list of saves in the small town, everything from breaking up a PCP gang to protecting the civilians from wild animal attacks." The reporter on the screen said as she spoke into a microphone.

"This reporter was curious as to iwhy/i such a sleepy little town was in need of saving, Going undercover, I found a cesspool of corruption in the local government dating back over a hundred years to the very founding of the city. The mayor in particular seems to be personally financing several of these gangs to keep the local population intimidated, only he knows why. His corrupt dealings were hidden by the local police chief, several prominent detectives iand/i city councilmembers through blackmail, bribery and extortion."

Xander stared at the tv screen. Of all the people in the world for him to have saved, a high ranking news reporter definitely had to be the worst choice.

The woman had been hounding his armored boots since day one, reporting every save he made on the national news.

The Sunnydale effect of 'gangs on PCP' and 'wild animal attacks' still held, the good news was the demonic population had gone to ground, not wishing to draw attention to themselves on national television.

Shaking off the wish that he had never saved her, Xander looked back at the face of his bane. "After an emergency election, newly appointed Mayor Donald Chase has sworn to clean up the town, his wish is that masked vigilantes will have no place in his home town's future. For National Network News, I'm Alice Case signing off."

Xander flicked off the TV and headed towards his armory in preparation for his nightly patrol.

Buffy and Willow were convinced he had been staying home to study, a lie he could keep as his grades had improved dramatically in the nine weeks since that horrible Halloween.

Grunting, Xander snapped the new microwave cannon in place. He had found several critical faults in the wiring and insulation of the new models of microwave ovens. //Probably so they short out and die quicker than the older beasts,// he mentally growled in disgust at the thought of companies more focused on making a buck than providing the best product to their customers.

Shaking the thought off Xander started to attach the armor. There was hunting to be done.

--

Xander ran through the night on heavy foam rubber boots, he had found the vampires feared him and ran when they heard his heavy footsteps and the foam rubber made him much quieter and reduced the jarring feeling he had to deal with.

He had already dealt with three minor vampire packs and a fungus demon when his blood ran cold at a familiar shout.

"GEAR!"

Slowing to a stop, Xander turned towards the shouting form and resisted the urge to run again. "Miss Case, what can I do for you?" he asked casually as he remembered his audio synthesizer kept most emotions from his voice.

"I just want to talk to you, no tricks, no traps." She promised as she came to a stop several feet from her quarry.

Xander actually smirked, though he knew the helmet would hide that fact. "You're a reporter Miss Case, of course there's going to be traps." He said simply before looking around. "And while a prolonged conversation would most likely be… memorable, I'm afraid I must continue my patrol." He stated before turning back towards his original path.

Xander resisted the urge to roll his eyes when the reporter followed beside him and turned on a recorder.

"So Mr. Gear, Organic or robotic?" she asked as she continued to pace him.

"Shouldn't that be animal, vegetable or mineral?" Xander quipped and flinched as the response gave away more than he had wanted to. Glancing over, Xander immediately hated the smug smile on the woman's face.

"So who are you really?" She asked obliviously as Xander lengthened his stride in the hopes of outdistancing her.

//Now I remember why Stark put rocket boots in the blasted armor to begin with.// Xander thought as she sped up to pace him again.

"So?" she pressed as Xander finally sighed.

"So what?"

"So, who are you really?"

She was persistent, Xander noted. Finally restraining the growl, Xander looked over at her. "I'm Batman." He stated before picking up the pace yet again.

"But under the…" she got before Xander cut her off.

Finally stopping, Xander turned to face her. "Look Alice, Do you mind if I call you Alice? Never mind. I need to focus on my patrol right now and as dangerous as it is to say this to any woman, you are a distraction." Xander stated plainly before turning back on his path.

He made it almost five steps before she shouted a single phrase to make him stop.

"Why do you fight vampires?"

Turning in midstep Xander stomped back over to her. "I'm sorry I don't think I heard you." The armor clad Scooby said carefully as the short reporter glared at him defiantly.

"Unless you left your hearing in Bogotá, I think you heard me just fine. Why do you fight vampires?" She said in a far more measured tone.

Xander considered lying for several seconds before looking down at the stubborn glare that would do any Summers woman proud.

"I fight them because they're there."

Nodding at his answer the reporter pulled the cassette out of thee recorder and handed it to the armored form that had saved her. "I'll be seeing you around, Gear." She said before turning on her heel and walking away.

--

"Sir, we have a report of probable Iron Tech in use in Sunnydale."

"How reliable."

"Several eyewitness sightings along with several news reports. Should I prep a team?"

"No, send the report to Stark Enterprises. Leave Iron Man to clean it up."